1. Field of Invention
The invention is related to an ink jet printer that performs a wiping operation to wipe ink adhered to an ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head.
2. Description of Related Art
There are known ink jet printer having a wiper blade for wiping ink adhered to an ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head. Some conventional ink jet printers have a fixed type of the wiper blade fixed to a position and which wipes ink off the ink ejecting surface of the ink jet print head every time the head reciprocatingly moves inside the printer. In such ink jet printers having the fixed type of wiper blade, the wiping operation is performed every time the ink jet print head reciprocatingly moves inside the printer. Therefore, the durability of the wiper blade is decreased.
To solve the above-described problem, an ink jet printer having a wiper blade that moves up and down between an ink wiping position and a standby position, is provided so that the wiping operation is performed as necessary. For example, ink jet printers disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-207293 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-224866, have a lever provided for a wiper blade. The wiper blade is raised and lowered by the lever operated by the reciprocating movement of a carriage.
The ink jet printer disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-52396 has a cam mechanism only for raising and lowering a wiper blade. The wiper blade is raised and lowered by the drive power transmitted from a line feed motor to the cam mechanism.
However, in the above-described prior art employing the mechanism of raising and lowering the wiper blade with the reciprocating movement of the carriage, parts such as levers for raising and lowering the wiper blade need to be provided, leading to a complicated mechanism for raising and lowering the wiper blade and an increased number of parts to be used. In addition, the motor torque of the carriage motor is increased due to the greater loads applied.
In the above-described prior art employing the mechanism of raising and lowering the wiper blade with the cam mechanism driven by the line feed motor, the cam mechanism leads to the complicated structure for raising and lowering the wiper blade and an increased number of parts to be used.
Further, known ink jet printers have a wiper blade formed from elastic materials, such as rubber, and ink is wiped off an ink ejecting surface by contacting the wiper blade to the ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head while moving the head. However, in such ink jet printers as constructed above, the ink is scattered around in a printer by the wiper blade sprung back from the bent state to the original state due to its elasticity after wiping all ink ejecting surfaces. Consequently, the inside of the printer is soiled with the ink.
Accordingly, one aspect of the invention is to provide an ink jet printer having a simple mechanism of raising and lowering a wiper blade without causing an increase in motor torque. Another aspect of the invention is to provide an ink jet printer having a wiping mechanism by which ink wiped off an ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head by the wiper blade during a wiping operation, will not be scattered around in the printer.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided an ink jet printer having a purge cap for covering an ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head and sucking the ink therefrom to perform purging, and a wiper blade for wiping the ink adhered to the ink ejecting surface purged by the purge cap. The ink jet printer includes ablade holder that holds the wiper blade and has a tiny protrusion to a side opposite to a side facing to the purge cap, an urging/pulling device that urges/pulls the blade holder in the direction that the tiny protrusion is provided and the direction of the initial position where the edge of the wiper blade does not make contact with the ink ejecting surface, a wiper moving member that moves the wiper blade to an ink wiping position where the wiper blade makes contact with the ink ejecting surface by being engaged with or contacting to a portion of the blade holder according to the reciprocating movement between a first position where the purge cap stays farthest away from the ink ejecting surface and a second position where the purge cap stays closest to the ink ejecting surface and the purging is performed, and a base that receives the tiny protrusion of the blade holder against the urging force by the urging/pulling device so that the wiper blade is kept at the ink wiping position, wherein the blade holder is moved so that the edge of the wiper blade reaches the ink wiping position using a cap moving mechanism that moves the purge cap from the first position to the second position, and the wiper blade is returned to the initial position by the urging/pulling device as the tiny protrusion is taken off from the base by the ink jet print head moved in a direction opposite to a direction that the ink is wiped by the wiper blade.
In the ink jet printer of the invention, as the purge caps are moved from the first position to the second position to suck ink from the ink ejecting surface of the ink jet print head for purging, the wiper moving member is also moved and is engaged with or contacts the blade holder, thereby moving the blade holder to the ink wiping position. After purging, when the purge cap is returned to the first position, the wiper blade also starts to return to the initial position. However, the tiny protrusions provided on the side surface of the blade holder are received by the base and the blade holder stays at the ink wiping position. In this state, the ink jet print head is moved in a direction so that head makes contact with the wiper blade to wipe the ink adhered on the ink ejecting surface. Thus, the wiping operation is performed. Thereafter, when the ink jet print head is moved in the opposite direction, the wiper blade is pushed by the ink jet print head and moved in the direction so that the tiny protrusions are removed from the base. Consequently, the wiper blade is returned to the initial position by the urging/pulling device.
As described above, in the ink jet printer of the invention, the wiper blade is moved to the ink wiping position as linked with the purge operation. As the ink jet print head is moved in the direction opposite to that the wiper blade is moved during the wiping operation, after the ink is wiped off the ink ejecting surface, the wiper blade is returned to the initial position. The force to be applied to make the wiper blade return to the initial position, is just enough force to remove the tiny protrusion from the base, and so that an increase in the motor torque of the carriage motor will not occur.
The ink jet printer of the invention includes a tiny protrusion provided on a side surface of a blade holder that holds the wiper blade and an opposite side facing the purge cap, a pulling member that pulls the blade holder downwardly in a slanting direction that the tiny protrusion are provided, a wiper raising member that raises the blade holder by contacting to the lower surface of the blade holder according to the upward movement of the purge cap toward the ink jet print head, and a base that receives on the upper surface thereof the tiny protrusion to stop the blade holder raised toward the ink jet print head by the wiper raising member at a raised position, wherein the base receives the tiny protrusion when the blade holder is lowered, and stops the wiper blade at an ink wiping position (on the ink ejecting surface).
As the purge caps are raised to suck the ink from the ink ejecting surface for purging, the wiper raising member is also raised. When the purge cap is lowered after purging, the wiper raising member is also lowered, and the blade holder starts to lower its position. However, since the blade holder is being pulled by the pulling member downwardly in the slanting direction that the base is provided, the tiny protrusion provided on a side surface of the blade holder is received by the base, stopping the blade holder at the ink wiping position. In this state, the ink jet print head is moved in a direction so that the head makes contact with the wiper blade to wipe the ink adhered on the ink ejecting surface. Thus, the wiping operation is performed. Thereafter, when the ink jet print head is moved in the opposite direction, the wiper blade is pushed by the ink jet print head and is moved in the direction such that the tiny protrusions are taken off from the base. Consequently, the wiper blade is pulled downwardly by the pulling member and is returned to the initial position.
In the ink jet printer of the invention, the wiper blade is raised to the ink wiping position as it is necessary. After the ink is wiped off the ink ejecting surface, the wiper blade is returned to the initial position by moving the ink jet print head in the direction opposite to that in which the wiper blade is moved during the wiping operation. The force to be applied to make the wiper blade return to the initial position, is just enough force to take off the tiny protrusion from the base, and an increase in the motor torque of the carriage motor will not occur. Only by providing the tiny protrusions on the blade holder, the pulling member, and the base, one aspect of the invention can be achieved with simple structure and with the small number of parts.
In the ink jet printer of the invention, the purge cap and the wiper raising member are raised by a cam mechanism driven by a line feed motor for paper feeding.
By the cam mechanism driven by the line feed motor, the purge cap is raised and lowered, and the wiper blade is raised. Only by providing the wiper raising member, the above-described movement can be performed. One aspect of the invention can be achieved with the simple mechanism without the number of parts increased.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided an ink jet printer having a purge cap for covering an ink ejecting surface of an ink jet print head and sucking ink therefrom to perform purging, and a wiper blade for wiping the ink adhered to the ink ejecting surface purged by the purge cap. The ink jet printer of the invention includes a wiper blade movable up and down between an upward ink wiping position and a downward initial position for wiping the ink adhered to the ink ejecting surface by the wiper blade, and a relative movement mechanism that relatively moves the ink jet print head and the wiper blade in an ink wiping direction, with the wiper blade raised to the ink wiping position and contacting to the ink ejecting surface. The relative movement mechanism stops the relative movement of the ink jet print head and the wiper blade immediately before the wiper blade reaches an edge of the ink ejecting surface, wipes off all areas of the ink ejecting surface, and then lowers the wiper blade to an initial position.
In the ink jet printer of the invention, when the ink adhered on the ink ejecting surface of the ink jet print head is wiped off after purging, an ink wiping operation is stopped immediately before the wiper blade reaches an edge of the ink ejecting surface and wipes off all areas of the ink ejecting surface. Then, the wiper blade is lowered to the initial position. At this time, the wiper blade bent or warped during the ink wiping operation is lowered to the initial position while releasing its bending or warping state. The wiper blade does not scatter the wiped ink due to its elasticity. Therefore, the inside the printer will not be soiled with the ink wiped from the ink ejecting surface scattered around.
An ink jet printer of the invention may further include a tiny protrusion provided on a side surface of a blade holder that holds the wiper blade opposite to a side facing to the purge cap, a pulling member that pulls the blade holder downwardly in a slanting direction where the tiny protrusion is provided, a wiper raising/lowering member that raises or lowers the blade holder by contacting the lower surface of the blade holder according to the raising/lowering movement of the purge cap, a base that receives on the upper surface thereof the tiny protrusion on the way that the blade holder is lowered from the most raised position to stop the wiper blade at the ink wiping position, and a movement mechanism that lowers the purge cap after purging and moves the ink jet print head toward the wiper blade. The movement mechanism stops the ink jet print head immediately before the wiper blade reaches an edge of the ink ejecting surface and wipes off all areas of the ink ejecting surface, and then moves the ink jet print head in an opposite direction.
As the purge caps are raised to suck the ink from the ink ejecting surface for purging, the wiper raising member is also raised. The blade holder is raised by the wiper raising member pushing the lower surface of the blade holder upwardly when the wiper raising member is raised. When the purge cap is lowered after purging, the wiper raising member is also lowered, and the blade holder starts to lower its position. However, since the blade holder is being pulled by the pulling member downwardly in the slanting direction that the base is provided, the tiny protrusion provided on a side surface of the blade holder is received by the base, stopping the blade holder at the ink wiping position. In this state, the ink jet print head is moved in a direction so that the head makes contact with the wiper blade to wipe the ink adhered on the ink ejecting surface using the wiper blade. Thus, the wiping operation is performed. In the ink wiping operation, the ink jet print head movement is stopped immediately before the wiper blade reaches an edge of the ink ejecting surface and wipes off all areas of the ink ejecting surface. The edge of the wiper blade is contacting the ink ejecting surface and the wiper blade remains bent or warped. In this state, the ink wiping operation is finished. Thereafter, the wiper blade is pushed by the ink jet print head and is moved in the direction that the tiny protrusions are taken off from the base. Consequently, the wiper blade is pulled downwardly by the pulling member and is returned to the initial position. When the wiper blade is returned to the initial position, the bending or warping of the blade is removed, so that the wiped ink will not scattered around in the printer by the wiper blade being sprung back due to its elasticity.
The ink jet printer of the invention further includes a stopper member for stopping the ink jet print head right over the purge cap by contacting the ink jet print head. The stopper member is raised and lowered together with the purge cap.
Since the ink jet print heads can be stopped right over the caps by the stopper member, the starting position where the ink jet print heads start to move for the ink wiping operation after purging, can be fixed. Therefore, the ink jet print head can be stopped immediately before the wiper blade reaches an edge of the ink ejecting surface and wipes off all areas of the ink ejecting surface.
Further objects, details, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the drawings.